


The Great Grand.......... Shovel talk?

by tenebris_ash



Series: Peter Parkour [1]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF Peter Parker, F/M, Flash Thompson Redemption, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Shovel Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-18 10:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18119330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenebris_ash/pseuds/tenebris_ash
Summary: Peter was happy for May. He really was. But did May's boyfriend have to be a relative of The Flash Thompson- school bully extraordinaire ? Couldn't she have chosen somebody else?Now here he was, making small talk with Flash and his family because who knew that Robert thompson was such a sap for family dinner-cum- drama? He swore if Robert so much as breathed wrong in the presence of May, then he will personally paint his face with bruises............ hmmmm time to give him the shovel talkAKAMy take on the May gets a boyfriend trope. Free of all that abuse nonsense because we all know that peter won't let May live with an abusive trash for a human being. So.... a fresh and frankly logical take on May's boyfriend.





	1. And it all goes down

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so as you know, I am tired of reading fics where peter is being abused. I mean come on, this is Peter Parker we are talking about, he is spiderman and fiercely protective of his loved ones. And he is a genius to boot! You can't convince me that he won't understand that if May's boyfriend can abuse him, then he won't go as far to abuse May in the long run! No sir. Not listening. Nope. Nada
> 
> I don't really want to make you nervous about reading this but this is the first fanfic I am writiting and publishing. I've never before published so much as a small article in a school magazene. And pardon me if my grammar is odd, I am not a native english speaker. Any criticism is welcome. Thank you and sorry for the long author's note....
> 
> Enjoy!

Peter was not a happy spider right now. Wait, he was, but not in  _that_ way. He was happy to see that aunt May was finally moving on, but maybe it would have been better for his continued mental stability if she had chosen anybody,  _anybody_ other than Robert Thompson- Uncle of Flash Thompson- school bully extraordinaire. 

It all started that cursed Tuesday evening- 

_Peter had just entered the house, tired from the day's activities as you-know-who (not that idiot dork lord from harry potter). He was pretty satisfied to have stopped 3 muggings and 1 accident. He even saved that cute little kitten from the tree- the churros he got from the old lady- the owner of the kitten was an added bonus. So in short, he was pretty happy from the day's productiveness. His day in general had also been nothing short of peaceful. He had aced his Spanish test, escaped from Flash without being bullied, made another bottle of web fluid without disrupting the chemistry lecture and he had not been subjected to one of MJ's infamous glares ( he swore her eyes had some kind of lasers and X-rays attached- how else could she look into your soul and decimate you with a glare?). Nothing could possibly ruin his day!_

_.................... jinxed. Well, damn. In hindsight he shouldn't have thought like that._

_Because the scene that he met his eyes as he was entering the living room was nothing short of scarring. His aunt and some unknown man were sitting a little too close to each other and k i s s i n g._

_Peter didn't know what to do, so he averted his eyes so as to stop any further trauma ( god knows he got enough from being spider man) and did the only thing he could think of. He cleared his throat._

_Seeing as it failed to generate the response he wanted, he cleared his throat again. A little louder this time. That seemed to have done the trick- if his aunt's red face and the thankfully larger distance between the two was any indication._

_"Sooo....." Peter was internally having a mild panic attack. Solving college level calculus questions and making high tensile- impossible to break web fluid? Done in no time. Meeting and talking with his aunt and her boyfriend? Well, thaaat....... wasn't exactly his forte. Thankfully, aunt May seemed to have regained her senses._

_"Uh... Hey Peter! I was waiting for you. I wanted you to meet Robert. We met at the clinic. He is a doctor. We have been going aut for a few months now......" At this point May's expression turned guilty. "I didn't want to give you unnecessary stress- what with your school , decathlon , internship and other..... duties..... I thought I'll introduce you both when it became serious. You two can talk with each other while I make coffee, alright? " With that, she hurridly edged her way out of the room, leaving Peter and Robert together._

_"Hello, I am Robert- "_

_Oh alright, Peter could do this....._

_"-Robert Thompson. Nice to meet you"._

_And with that small greeting, poor Peter's world came crashing down-_

_\- not really, but it was pretty close. No problem, he thought, it's not as if there is only one Thompson family in the world. Plenty of Thompsons to go around, right? RIGHT? Still, better safe than sorry._

_"Hello, I am Peter Parker, May's nephew. Are you, by any chance related to Eugine Thompson?" He asked tentatively, dreading for his sanity._

_"Why, Yes! I am his uncle! How do you know him?"_

_"He.... he's a .... classmate. We go to the same school." Well, there goes his last hope._

_" How nice! ......." Without anything else to say, they sat in awkward silence till May entered with 3 mismatched coffee cups._

_They made awkward small talk for some time, he doesn't quite remember what was said (something about family and dinner or something, he really didn't  pay much attention) and then Peter took his leave to go into the sanctity of his room._

_In hindsight, that was his doom. He had just agreed to attend dinner with the Thompson family._

Peter was mature enough to understand that his aunt needed to move on. He wanted to see her happy. He really did. But he was immature enough to feel jealous and childish about the situation. He could not shake the feeling that they were letting a stranger enter into their tightly knit, special family. And if Robert Thompson even  _dared_ to breathe wrong in the presence of aunt May, well, lets just say that Peter has been learning new martial arts techniques and tricks to hurt where it pains the most and he would very much like to test it on somebody.... we will leave it at that and pray that nobody thinks about hurting Peter's family.... the consequences will be BAD.

....... oh and time for the shovel talk.

 


	2. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash couldn't understand why everybody was fussing over this dinner. It was so lame! Alright, so his uncle- who, according to everybody, was a hermit in terms of dating, had finally found his perfect girl. So what? Why panic over a dinner? What was the worst that could happen?  
> ........ or so he thought till he found that the lucky woman in question was May Parker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is too early for an update.... I didn't know how this site worked and I couldn't change the no. of chapters (it is most certainly NOT a one shot and I've planned a lot of fun for it). This fic is not too long but I am afraid that I will be caught writing fanfiction on my crappy mobile when I am supposed to be studying for my final year exams which is in 2 days..... and this is why it has been divided into small chapters...
> 
>  
> 
> **Edit: A special thanks to tempetepapillon who pointed out that Queens is a really large place with millions of citizens and not a small neighbourhood I had imagined. I have nobody to blame but myself for the error in the data (though my excuse would be that I was born and raised in Asia and thus I have no idea 😜about geography of other continents, though I was pretty bad in geography to begin with...😉😜) I have, made the necessary changes now**
> 
> **Thanks**

"...... You will introduce yourself as Eugene Thompson and not 'torch' or 'shock' or whatever name you force your friends to call you in school, alright?"

"It's Flash" Eugene 'Flash' Thompson muttered under his breath.

"What was it? I couldn't hear you" Marie Thompson was a force to be feared when she set her mind on something. This time, it was her brother-in-law's marriage.

"I said yes, I will introduce myself as Eugene. Happy?"

"Yes. And watch that tone of yours while you are introduced. This is your Uncle's big day. Don't you dare ruin it with your teenage rebellion ."

"Yeah yeah"

Flash, for the life of him, couldn't understand what all this fuss was about. Yes, uncle Robert was his favourite uncle. Yes, he was a social hermit. Yes, he hadn't dated in ages. And yes, it was a shock to hear him talk about his girlfriend, who did not exist as far as everybody was concerned. But that did not mean that everybody had to run around like headless chickens for a simple dinner, was it? He shrugged. Not his problem. Besides it was good to have a family dinner in a restaurant.  They hadn't gone out for family time since like, 4 years. He was going to enjoy it as much as he could. 

That was until he came to know about the mystery woman.

 His pleasant dream of having a peaceful family dinner shattered when he heard that his uncle was dating May Parker. Aunt and the sole guardian of that nerd - Peter Parker. Yep. The one he bullied at school. The one who was undeserving of that SI internship. Flash was sure that there was something fishy about what Parker had said. He had, rightfully, tried to get the truth. So what if he had to badmouth him a little more than he usual? It didn't matter. 

Until it did. He was pretty sure it was his Karma, coming to bite him in his butt for all those years of bullying he did to make himself feel good. How could he hope to make a good impression on someone he had bullied for years. If he ruined his uncle's chance at dating then he would be grounded till he was 30. 

How was he going to make small talk with somebody he had bullied for years ,without insulting him? Hell, how was he even going to  _exist_ in the same room as Peter Parker without insulting him? Habit was habit. It was going to take a lot of self restraint to be civil to his cildhood nemesis. Maybe he should just concentrate on eating his dinner. That was the only safe option that wouldn't incur his mother's wrath.

"Eugene , are you ready to go?" His father called him. The time has come.

"Yeah, I'm coming, just a sec" he shouted back before sighing to himself. It was no use extending the torture. He just had to face it like a man.

                           _@_@_@_@_

 

The car ride to the Thai restaurant was shorter than he had hoped. They entered the restaurant and sat at the table they had booked, waiting for May and her nephew. They didn't have to wait for long. The two Parkers entered the restaurant. May was dressed casually in a knee length cotton dress and it was a change to see Parker- _Peter_ in something other than an ugly oversized hoodie or sweatshirt with lame science puns. He was wearing a clean Green shirt tucked within black jeans and a pair of - (thankfully )clean- sneakers. 

"Hello Mr and Miss Parker! It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard so many nice things about you from Robert. You are just as beautiful as he described you" His overzealous mother exclaimed happily .

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. It's nice to meet you too..." Miss Parker smiled. And so began the interrogation- uh - sorry, conversation. 

He had to give it to May Parker. She was answering each and every question thrown at her by his mother with a patience to rival a monk. He figured that kind of patience was necessary to survive with a nephew like peter who was curious to a fault.

His father was nodding along stoically, but Flash could tell that even he was curious about May Parker. As the widow to Ben Parker and the sole guardian of Peter, everybody was curious about her. What could he say? Queens had curious citizens. Besides, their neighbourhood was small, and people here made a point of knowing about each other, even if it was passingly. His eyes moved towards his uncomfortable and shy uncle, who was busy avoiding everybody's eyes, especially Peter. Speaking of him-

Peter was sitting opposite to his uncle and staring quite intently at him, as if trying to look into his soul and glean every deep, dark secret he had while he was at it. Flash couldn't fault him. If his sole guardian was dating somebody, then he too would try to find out everything he could about the person his guardian was dating. He briefly wondered if his poor uncle was going to be subjected to the shovel talk.......

......Nah. Perfect Peter just didn't have it in him. What would he say? 'Keep my aunt happy or I will bombard your brain with questions asked at the speed of 1000kmph?' Or ' Take care of my aunt or I will murder you with puppies, flowers and apologies' He snickered internally. He just couldn't imagine Peter being forceful or even mildly unpleasant.  He would know, he had tormented him for years and Peter still didn't act out against him. True, he could be sarcastic and gave quite a few clever comebacks, but he wasn't any more dangerous than your average bunny. Parker had the patience of a saint. He couldn't harm a mosquito if he tried.

Or so he thought.

How was he to know that Parker more dangerous than anybody he had met, maybe ever (excluding perhaps, MJ. That girl was hella dangerous).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please...... *insert puppy dog eyes here*
> 
> I hope you folks have read the a/n about edit I have made in bold at the begining of the fic  
> Thanks for reading


	3. The dreaded dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finally gets to have a little 'chat' with Robert. It was just his luck that Flash decided to tag along..... well.... each one to his own....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? 16 kudos in less than 8 hours? Wooow I am overwhelmed! Another chapter for you because I have my final exam from monday and I am a pro at procrastinating (don't tell anybody *shhhhh*)
> 
> Oh and I'd forgotten about the disclaimer so I am adding it here- I don't own Marvel or any of it's characters. If I did, then I'd make Tony adopt peter, legally. The only characters I own are frankly, useless. Now spare me.... gaaah  
> I am too lazy to go back and stick this disclaimer at the start of other chapters so bear with me here. I'll go out on a limb here and assume that people are going to read it at least till the third chapter before being bored and throwing away their phones to study about inertia and torque or whatever other drab stuff one can read in their free time to flush out the ridiculousness that is my writing style.
> 
> Ooops.... shorry for the long note * it is not a spelling mistake, I have heard that talking like a baby often makes people forget about a lot of mistakes I make* I'm just dragging it, ain't I?

The moment Peter and May reached the restaurant, Peter felt a strange tingling in his spidey senses. It was nothing dangerous, just anticipatory. Likely because the Thompsons had already reached there and were waiting for them. That did nothing to calm his nerves.

  
Wait, why was _he_  so nervous? He should be the one to calm May. Fortunately, May seemed quite calm and confident herself. Watching her, he felt love and protectiveness surge inside him. There was no way anyone was going to hurt her on his watch. His mind went to the talk they had had before coming here.

  
_To say that Peter was confused would be an understatement. He had never attended formal dinners- had never needed to. His dinners with Tony and Pepper were anything but formal. How was he supposed to know what to wear? He had finally decided on his cleanest shirt- a green one and a pair of black jeans. Just as he was going to get changed, his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of Aunt May climbing the stairs to his room. He threw open his doors, effectively startling her._

  
_“Yeesh Peter! Are to trying to give me a heart attack here?”_

_“Uh sorry Aunt May! You wanted to talk? ” Peter grinned unrepentant , just to be swatted lightly on the shoulder._

_“Yeah. I thought that bringing Robert to meet you without any warning may have been too sudden for you” At this, her expression turned guilty._

_“I want you to know that I am not replacing Ben. And my love for you will never be any less. Maybe springing up that family dinner on you out of the blue was not very nice either-”_

_“Aunt May-”_

_“-I won't date anybody if you don't want me to. I need you to know that I love you more than anybody else in this world-”_

_“May, I understand.”_

_“What?”_

_“I understand that you love me a lot. I love you too. No, you are not replacing anybody by trying to move on with your life. I want you to do it. Ben would have wanted it too. He would never want you to stop living just because he isn't there. He will always be watching over us and yes, his absence is a painful hole in our life that will perhaps never be filled, but maybe we should try to live though that grief and move on. Ben and I will always be happy with whatever decision to make. ”_   
_By the end of his small speech, May's eyes had filled with tears._

_“My little boy” She said, blinking back tears “all grown up and thoughtful” she sniffed. Then she smiled sadly “You grew up too quickly. I can't believe that you are the same child who used to wear ironman toy gloves and mask and run around making robot noises ”_

_“Mayyyyy I was a kid! And I regret nothing. I love Ironman. More so, now that I know Mr. Stark. By the way, if you think I have grown up then I think there is no problem in giving dear Robby the shovel talk ”_

_“Peter Benjamin Parker! You will do no such thing!” May cried in mock outrage, smiling despite herself._

_“Please”_

_May had to avert her eyes. How was she to save herself from the full effect of his puppy dog eyes when he was looking so hopefully at her, with his adorable , big brown eyes……_

_“…….alright. Do what you want to do. Just don't scare him too much”_   
_He pretended to contemplate “hmmmm I'll see what I can do. But no promises ” he replied playfully, only to be swatted at, again._

_Laughing merrily, both went to get ready for the oncoming dinner._   
  


  
He smiled at his aunt and they entered into the restaurant.

  
Peter hadn't felt so overwhelmed in quite sometime. The way Mrs. Thompson was flinging questions left, right and center at his aunt….. he grimaced internally. It was giving _him_  a headache. He couldn't fathom how his aunt was keeping up with answering so many questions, back to back. He decided to observe everybody else. Mrs. Thompson was dressed in a casual blue evening dress. Robert had dressed smartly, in a formal white shirt and blue jeans, while Mr. Thompson was fully decked out in a black formal suit ( a little too formal for a family dinner, if you asked him). Then his attention went to Flash. He hadn't put in too much thought into his attire. Dressed in a normal T-shirt, a leather jacket and normal blue jeans, he was probably the most casually dressed of the four. His expressions told Peter that he wanted to be anywhere but there. And he could understand. But he wouldn't deny that he felt a little smug that his schoolyard tormenter felt uncomfortable in this setting. Well, maybe he would, he had a superhero image to maintain, afterall.

  
They ordered the food and enjoyed their dinner in silence. At least now his Aunt could catch a break from all that questioning.

Finishing their food, May and Mrs. Thompson went to the restroom. Now if only he could get Robert alone to scare him a little…..……

Mr. Thompson's phone rang. What a fortunate coincidence! Three gone, one to go. Peter looked at Flash intently, as if willing him to disappear. Then he decided to speak up.

“Hey Robert. Uh, I can call you Robert, Right? ”

“Um Yeah…”

“Can I talk with you for a minute.” he looked at Flash, hoping that he would catch a hint - “Alone”.

Before Robert could answer, Flash beat him to it.

“I am sure whatever you need to say can be said in my presence” Oh, sticking for family, was he? Peter thought with a sharp grin.

Something in his face must have shown his thoughts (oh , was it that grin?) Because suddenly, both the Thompsons turned wary. Hmm maybe he _was_  spending too much time with Tony .

“Then lets walk, shall we? Nothing like a short walk after such a lovely dinner.” And with that, he started walking, knowing that both Flash and Robert were following behind him.

“So Robert, we could not talk much that day, I know that you are a doctor at my aunt's clinic, but what is your speciality?”

Robert straightened up, knowing that he had to impress her nephew if he wanted a chance with May.

“ I am a cardiothorasic surgeon. I operate on heart and it's neighbouring organs”

“It's very nice. Is your job fulfilling? ”

“Of course, it is very fulfilling to see that I can help people like that. Out of everything, I find that saving lives is the most fulfilling part of the job. To think that I saved a child from being an orphan or helped an elderly person live for a few more days gives me a different kind of happiness. In my childhood, I had been inspired by captain America. I wanted to be a hero like him. I knew that I couldn't ever fight like the way he does. But saving lives makes me feel a bit closer to that childhood dream of being a hero ”

  
Peter smiled softly at that. Maybe Robert was not too bad a choice for his aunt. He was clearly passionate about his job, something he could respect.

“And what is the worst thing about your job? ”

“Not being able to save the lives of the ones who die. There is nothing worse than knowing that a woman was widowed or a child lost her grandparent because I failed in my job. Not being able to save lives hurts equally, if not more than the happiness and accomplishment that comes with saving lives.”

At this Peter nodded. This was something he could relate to, wholeheartedly. He replied

“My uncle used to say that 'with great power, comes great responsibility' I am glad that you use your knowledge and skills to save lives”

  
“If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your uncle? I wanted to ask May, but I felt that she may be upset. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”

“My uncle was shot by a mugger a little over 2 years ago. We had snuck out during the night to buy icecream. I'd never thought that our happy family would lose one member that day.” Peter smiled sadly.

  
“You were right when you said that it would make her upset. It is a sore topic for both of us. Right from that day , May has done everything in her power to keep me happy. She has made sacrifices nobody would even think to make. When she loves somebody, she loves them with her whole heart. There is not one thing she wouldn't do for the people she loves. Which is why I have to ask you- what are your plans for May? ”

  
“I plan for only one thing. And that is to keep her happy, any way possible. From what time I have spent with her, I know her to be strong, helpful, fierce and nice to a fault. Her beauty runs deeper than her skin. I will always walk by her side, if you and May allow me to”

  
“Wise answer. But be warned, don't ever try to replace Ben. He is someone who is irreplaceable for us. And take care of May.”

“I will” Robert said solemnly.

Then Peter grinned and said “Perfect! Now that we are coming to the end of our nice little chat, I think I should end it with the customary threat we'd all been waiting for” And his expression turned dark- darker than anybody who had known him had ever seen( except the ones who knew spiderman).

“Consider this a fair warning. If you so much as hurt a _hair_  on May's head, I'll first let her deal with you, then I will _kill_ you in the most painful way possible. Deadpool might help me hide your body if I ask him nicely enough. May is like a mother to me. Nothing is more dangerous than a son avenging his mother. If you fail in keeping her happy, then you will find that being born was the worst decision you'd made in your life. Capiche? ”

“Y-Y-yeah….” Robert gulped nervously. Well, that…….. escalated quickly…….

“Woah man” Flash, who had previously been pretty much ignored, exclaimed. “That…. Was pretty dark, Parker. Didn't know you had it in you. ”

Aaaand that shark like grin was back again.

“I always have it in me to threaten, and _follow through with what I'd said_  for the welfare of my loved ones. I just don't react to your bullying because dealing with that is not worth my time.” His expression turned normal again.

“Come on, lets go back to our families. They are waiting for us.” he chirped, increasing his walking speed. Flash and Robert had to hurry up to keep up with him.

Shovel talk- done.

Mission accomplished.

It was ………. surprisingly fun. Peter could now understand why Tony liked to act so unsettling sometimes.

It was needless to say that Peter had a spring in his steps when he reached May, while the other two seemed considerably afraid as they trailed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read rate review.... you know the drill.....


	4. Shocking like a 'flash' of thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash had thought that peter was a bunny. So since when did bunnies start to bite? When the hell did Parker grow a backbone strong enough to give shovel talks?
> 
> Or the time Flash was surprised ( and more than a little afraid ) of Peter Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo hoo I am baaack. My exam was dope (thanks for asking ;) )..... welll not exactly dope but.... I'll live.  
> I am so happy with the response this fic got!  
> Read on  
> ( don't kill me for the pun on the chapter name.... I just HAD to... he he)

The dinner had been too peaceful. Flash should have  _known_ that it was the calm before the storm.

The actual dinner passed in silence. He could tell that his uncle was infinitely relieved that Peter was now concentrating on food rather than rather than staring disturbingly at him. His parents were strict advocates of no talking while eating (too many bad incidents of his dad chocking on food in his childhood, he'd wager) , so the clinking of silvervare on the plates was the only sound to be heard apart from the muted chatterings of other customers. It  _was_ a family restaurant after all. 

The first indication of the storm was when May and his mum went to the restroom and his dad got busy in an important call. He knew it was one of his clients, in which case he won't be back before around half an hour. He turned to look at Peter and was disturbed to see a glint in his eyes. The one that normally meant that shit was going to go down. Strange, in all his years of knowing Peter ( alright, he didn't exactly _know_ him, but he had shoved him in lockers and bullied him for almost 2 years, that  _had_ to count, right?) he had never seen something like this . ( he wasn't going to admit that he probably knew nothing about his highschool nemesis. Absolutely not!)

And then Peter went and did something Flash had thought he'd never do. He asked to talk with Robert, alone. Now, no matter what the decathlon team said, Flash wasn't an idiot. He knew why Peter was asking to talk to his uncle. Even at 15 going on 16, Flash had had his fair share of shovel talks ( yes, one was more than enough, thank you very much. He still shuddered when he thought about that disastrous date. He didn't even like that girl much, who knew she had two buff brothers who were in the army?)

Even though a lot of signs hinted to the contrary, he still had trouble imagining Peter as anything other than a harmless bunny. So surprised and more than a bit amused, he decided to enjoy the show- " I am sure whatever you have to say can be said in my presence" 

The answering grin he saw was familiar, jarring and the first indication that maybe he should have stayed out of it.

                            _@_@_@_@_@_

Peter's first few questions felt like he was genuinely trying to get to know his uncle. Finding out what had happened to Ben was shocking- well , everybody had known that he had been shot in a mugging gone wrong. But it was a completely different thing to know that Peter had  _seen_ his uncle being shot. The panic attacks in the washroom and the quiet sniffling that had come from the stalls suddenly made sense. And it was shameful to think that he had bullied Peter when he was clearly going through such a difficult time. What? He wasn't completely heartless. But Parker would never get his pity, he had a feeling that he wouldn't appreciate it.

And so he listened on, for once, content to be ignored. The talk came to an end and he had just started to think that it was a normal talk but then Parker had to talk some more, and ruin his expectations.

The warning in itself was the standard shovel talk- he hadn't expected that inclusion about  _deadpool_ of all people, but he figured that since Parker had already shown off about knowing spider-man ( and he certainly wasn't going to believe that), he may as well add a certain merc with a mouth to the mixture. No, it was the tone with which he said it. It was dark and casual at the same time, as if he gave similar warnings for a living and the way he said it? It was too serious to be a joke and a little frightening. Very little. No, he did  _not_ shiver involuntarily.  Certainly not. He was just shocked. He'd never thought Parker had it in him.

There was that sharp grin again. Had he unknowingly voiced his thoughts? It seemed so, if Peter's next words were any indication.

 “I always have it in me to threaten, and  _follow through with what I'd said_  for the welfare of my loved ones. I just don't react to your bullying because dealing with that is not worth my time.” 

 

His life had been a lie. Because Parker? He wasn't a bunny. He had never been a bunny, if his words were any indication. And Flash wasn't kidding when he said that he had an idea when somebody was lying or telling the truth. Growing up with his parents, both of whom were top lawyers in NY, at least taught him to differenciate between truth an lies. It was part of the reason he couldn't believe that Parker had a legit SI internship. Yes, it may have been some of his jealousy speaking, but he knew that there was something fishy about all this.

Maybe he had underestimated Peter right from the start? Or maybe......

....... maybe this wasn't Peter at all, but an imposter. Because hadn't he shoved Peter into the lockers, again, just this afternoon? When did he change this much? There was something wrong and he would get to the bottom of it all...... just not today. First he needed to get home and have some rest. He would keep a better eye on parker in school. What if it really was an imposter and the real Peter had been kidnapped? He may dislike that nerd but he certainly didn't want him to be kidnapped, or worse, killed.

 

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he was startled to see that they had reached their parents.

"Here you are Flash. May was just saying that Peter goes to midtown too. Isn't it great!" His mom exclaimed.

Flash and Peter looked at each other and grimaced. It was not great. It was anything but great. 

" What happened Robert? Why are you looking as if you saw a ghost? Are you alright? And Flash, where is your dad? Don't tell me he is on the phone, talking to his client. For God's sake, it's family time!"

 

May looked at peter and Robert knowingly. And Peter had a shit eating grin on his face.

"Oh we had just gone for a walk after dinner. It seams that he is a bit tired. Aren't you Robert?" Peter smiled that all too familiar sharp sharp smile.

"Oh yes. Maybe we should all go home. It's already getting late." Robert replied, taking the hint.

"Alright then, take care May, Peter. I really enjoyed our time together. I hope we can do this again sometime."

"Thank you Mary. We had a great time too. Thank You for having us"

They said their farewell and proceeded towards their cars. He wouldn't say that it had been great, but the day had been pretty interesting. Now he had some thinking to do.


	5. Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter:  
> A peek into the minds of the other characters + a bonus Flash POV....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually to be entirely honest.... I hadn't planned it to be a 5 chaptered fic. I had almost ended everything by chapter 4. Almost. I hadn't given much thought to what I'd write after everybody goes home. But something felt missing and then I thought that maybe we should know what happened to poor Robert.

:Robert:

 

In hindsight, Robert shouldn't have been so shocked. May and Peter had fended for themselves when nobody had been there for them. It was only obvious that Peter would be wary of anybody dating his aunt. He only wanted what was best for May. It was something he could understand as well as relate to. He'd probably have done the same thing, had he been in Peter's place. It was just that he had never  _ever_ thought that a sweet, slight and mild mannered boy like Peter would be capable of scaring him like that. The poor boy practically swam in his clothes. Although maybe the clothes were to be blamed to some extent, seeing as everything he had seen him wear was at least one size too big. 

 

He knew that both their lives had been difficult. But the darkness he saw in Peter's eyes....... the only thing he could say was that Peter meant what he was saying. And even though he hadn't been meaning to upset May (the wonderful goddess that she was), it gave him all the more incentive to never break her heart, lest he end up as the soil beneath somebody's feet. He shuddered, hoping that he never ended up in the bad side of the Parkers. It was obvious that things would get quite ugly otherwise. 

 

:Harrison Thompson:

 

The Dinner had been quite peaceful. It had been wise to choose that restaurant. He was reminded of the time he had met his Marie. It was the same restaurant he had met her in. It had been lucky for him and he hoped that it became lucky for his brother too.

He had been quite impressed by May Parker. She seemed to be quite strong willed and determined. Of course, anybody who could keep up with Marie was ok in his books. It needs a special kind of determination to answer all of the questions and keep up with his wife. Something, which May did quite effectively.  This habit of Marie, of asking the most accurate and important questions was what made her such a successful lawyer , afterall. He was pretty sure that she liked May too. 

The Parker boy- Peter was a pretty well-mannered child, if only Eugene learned something from him and acted with more decorum.  You don't come across such teenagers nowadays .

The only thing that bothered him was the look in his eyes. It was the same look he had seen in people who had served in armies. The one that marked them as survivors , and a proof that they had seen too much darkness.  It made him wonder what kind of life the Parkers led. Yes, it had been quite an interesting dinner, indeed.

 

:May Parker:

 

It had been an......  _eventful_ dinner. She doubted that she had ever answered so many questions at the same time. It felt like one of those rapid fire quiz competitions she had attended for Peter. If she had ever doubted that Mary was a lawyer (she hadn't ), this dinner cleared all her doubts. 

When she had returned from the restroom and seen Robert's face, she had known that Peter had actually threatened him for her. She was torn between feeling embarrassed and feeling proud.

Her little baby had grown up so much, now he was saving lives as spiderman and protecting her. When she thought about it, it wasn't that difficult to see the spiderman in Peter. He had been protecting others to the best of his abilities ever since he had started walking and talking. He had been a hero long before being bitten by a spider and gaining powers. It was part of the reason she hadn't stopped him from going out as spiderman, even though her heart told her to grab him and never let him go out of the house. Every time she saw him doing dangerous stunts in missions, every time she saw him getting hurt, her heart beat a little faster, until she felt sure that a little faster and it would come thudding out of her chest.

When she had initially found out about his secret identity, she had felt shocked, betrayed and more than a little scared. She had already lost Ben, she couldn't lose Peter. But she knew that it may be her Peter, but he was also spiderman. One couldn't exist without the other, for they were the same. A bright soul like Peter's would never find happiness if she bound him and stopped him from saving lives. She knew her Peter, she had raised him like a mother. And she knew that for every death that could have been prevented, Peter would take on more guilt till that burden suffocated him. And as much as she wanted Peter alive, she also wanted himto be happy. Even if swinging from thin webs , saving puppies and kittens and helping old ladies cross the roads was his idea of fun. She won't stop him from having it.

Nevertheless, she appreciated him trying to protect her, and it warmed her heart to think that she had somebody in her life who was willing to go around, threatening her suiters. Besides, if Robert couldn't handle a little talk with her teenage nephew, then how could he ever imagine to be a part of their crazy lives?

 

:Marie Thompson:

 

The moment she met May, she knew that they would get along like a house on fire. Not a very nice eulogy (considering that they were talking about houses and fire) but accurate all the same. People thought that shooting off questions at top speed was a habit coming from years of working as a lawyer. A habit she couldn't shake. But they were wrong, so wrong. 

It had been a skill she had cultivated to know a person. Only a strong willed and decent person could answer something about themselves so fast. It needed a specific kind of patience and personality to keep up with her. Something which May had in heaps and mountains. She had to give it to Robert, he had chosen wisely. 

She couldn't interact with Peter much. He seemed like a good child, a bit on the skinny side. But there was an innocence and positivity to him that was very difficult to find in this world. No doubt, he'd had a difficult life , if the hard and wary look in his eyes was anything to go by. However she hadn't thought that he would act so fiercely protective for his aunt.

Oh she knew alright. The expression Robert had on his face after having a 'talk' with Peter was the same one Harry had after talking to her brothers. At that time, she had found it mortifying, but now she could see the fun in it. Of course, it may have had something to do with the fact that this time it was Robert instead of Harry. But she wasn't going to admit it. 

At first, she had found it hillarious that her brother-in-law would be so terrified of a teenage boy half his age, but then she saw the sharp grin on his face and knew immediately that there was more to Peter than anybody (except his aunt) had given him credit for. Eugene had become rather pale and that would've worried her, if she hadn't known the cause for it. She wasn't one of those mothers who rushed to her child, crying, just because he scrapped his knee while playing. She strongly believed in letting him experience the world for himself (if said experiences did not involve anything harmful, like drugs, of course).

All in all it had been the most fun she'd had in a while.

                        _@_@_@_@_@_@_

 

Flash tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. Something about Peter had seemed off. Apart from the fact that he couldn't quite equate the confident, badass Peter with the loser Peter Parker at school, there was also something about the smile he wore that felt very familiar. He had never felt so confused in his life ( well, except during tests. But don't tell that to his parents). Which was the real Peter? When did he become like this? And while his theory that the original Peter had somehow been abducted by someone- who took his place as an imposter , felt pretty likely, the implications it gave were bad.

Even if his theory  _was_ correct, why would an imposter want to live as Peter? What was so special about him? And if his theory was wrong, then it would mean that Peter wasn't a weak loser like he pretended(?). And didn't  _that_ give rise to so many more questions. 

He sighed. The only help his circular thoughts had given him was a headache. He couldn't help but wonder how he should act tomorrow. Should he push Parker around or should he just leave him alone? If Parker actually was dangerous if angered, then shouldn't he just stay away from him? Should he try confronting him? .........nah... what if it  _was_ an imposter and the fake-Parker attacked him?

Or maybe, he was just overreacting. Maybe, Parker just had a spike in courage or something and maybe, the world would go back to normal tomorrow- so that he could go back to bullying Loser Parker in peace.

As he slowly drifted off to sleep, the last thought in his mind was that the Shark-like grin Peter had given them had been distinctly similar to the smile Tony Stark gave to reporters and senators before utterly destroying them with his words alone.

                 _@_@_@_@_@_@_@_

 

Meanwhile, unaware of the storm he had raised, Peter Parker slept, curled up in his bed, dreaming of cute puppies and rainbows and saving kittens from trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand this is the ending. I didn't want to stretch it but I wanted it to have something of a closure...... sorry if there are any typos...... I am basically just writing it (on my crappy phone) while pretending to study while my parents watch over me like a hawk and it feels as if I am a secret agent or something ...... alright I'll stop rambling now.......
> 
> Oh yeah, before I go, I'd like to ask if you'd want me to continue it as a series or something..... if you want me to then all you have to do is ask *insert cheesy wink here*
> 
> Meanwhile... kudos + comments= happy me


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